The Two Penny Blue or The Two Pence Blue was the world's second official
postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...
, produced in the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...
and issued after the
Penny Black.
Initial printing took place from 1 May 1840, and in all 6,460,000 were printed from two plates until 29 August.
Officially the stamps were valid for postage from 6 May but were only available from 8 May.
It was first sold to the public at the London Inland revenue office on 6 May 1840. Except for its denomination, the design is exactly the same as the penny black and was struck from the same die.
It was originally intended that the 2d blue be issued at the same time as the 1d black; the earliest postmark seen on one of these is 6 May 1840. The first issues of this value (intended for double rate letters), were printed from plates 1 and 2. The printing plates were destroyed in 1843.
Copies of the stamp are now significantly rarer and more expensive than the Penny Black.
Later when the colours of the stamps were being revised, the inks chosen were red-brown for the penny value and a new blue ink for the two pence value. As the printed stamps in the new ink looked the same as the original issue, it was decided to add a horizontal line at the top and bottom of the label so as the newer printings could be easily identified. Printing of the revised stamps began on 27 February 1841 and were placed on sale in March.
These are referred to as the ''white lines added issue'', as pictured right. They are more common than the original 1840 printing.
The Penny Black allowed a letter weighing up to half an
ounce
The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman unit of measurement.
The avoirdupois ounce (exactly ) is avoirdupois pound; this is the United States customa ...
to be sent anywhere within Britain; the Two Penny Blue's weight limit was a full ounce.
See also
*
Penny Black
*
Penny Blue
{{Infobox rare stamps
, common_name = Penny Blue
, image = Onepennyblue.jpg
, country_of_production = United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
, location_of_production = London
, date_of_producti ...
*
Penny Red
*
VR official
VR may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and education
* Virtual reality, a computer technology that simulates an environment with which a user may interact as if it was actually there
* ''Virtua Racing'', a 1992 arcade racing game by Sega
* Vocatio ...
*
List of British postage stamps
References
External links
Images of the Two penny blue from the Phillips Collection at the British Postal History Museum
1840 works
1840 establishments in the United Kingdom
Postage stamps of the United Kingdom
Postal history of the United Kingdom
Cultural depictions of Queen Victoria
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